Home, Gardening and How-To

The first released cultivar of the flowering callery pear was named Bradford and it was easy to grow, pest free, flowered profusely and best of all could not fertilize itself and make viable seeds. But then other cultivars were released into the market resulting in viable pollen being produced and transferred all over the place by insects drawn to those flowers.

Large stands of them taking over fallow fields and roadsides. They crowd out plants that would provide nectar and pollen to a greater variety of beneficial insects over a longer period of time.

The first released cultivar of the flowering callery pear was named Bradford and it was easy to grow, pest free, flowered profusely and best of all could not fertilize itself and make viable seeds. But then other cultivars were released into the market resulting in viable pollen being produced and transferred all over the place by insects drawn to those flowers.

It is not and will not be illegal to have Bradford pears growing in your yard. However, they are now on the State Plant Pest list and beginning October first, two thousand twenty-four, nurseries will no longer sell Bradford pears or any other cultivar of the invasive flowering pear, Pyrus calleryanna.

It is not and will not be illegal to have Bradford pears growing in your yard. However, they are now on the State Plant Pest list and beginning October first, two thousand twenty-four, nurseries will no longer sell Bradford pears or any other cultivar of the invasive flowering pear, Pyrus calleryanna.

Campsis radicans, has been known as “cow itch,” but, there is no evidence that it bothers cows at all.

Campsis radicans, has been known as “cow itch,” but, there is no evidence that it bothers cows at all.

At the Xerces Society’s page on Building a Better Mulch pile they tell us that thirty percent of our native bees are cavity nesters while 70 percent nest in the ground. The USDA Agroforestry Notes --Enhancing Nesting Sites for Native Bee Pollinators --has tips to make your yard part of the movement to protect these insects – very few of whom are social and therefore defensive. Elderberry, boxelder, and raspberry and blackberry canes support the cavity nesters while bare or very lightly mulched areas of ground can serve as areas where ground nesters can lay eggs. Ground wood mulch, popular because it lasts so long, is a poor choice for a pollinator friendly yard. Try to let your mulch mimic the leaf litter you find in forests – mulch your fallen leaves and save space in landfills.

At the Xerces Society’s page on Building a Better Mulch pile they tell us that thirty percent of our native bees are cavity nesters while 70 percent nest in the ground. The USDA Agroforestry Notes --Enhancing Nesting Sites for Native Bee Pollinators --has tips to make your yard part of the movement to protect these insects – very few of whom are social and therefore defensive. Elderberry, boxelder, and raspberry and blackberry canes support the cavity nesters while bare or very lightly mulched areas of ground can serve as areas where ground nesters can lay eggs. Ground wood mulch, popular because it lasts so long, is a poor choice for a pollinator friendly yard. Try to let your mulch mimic the leaf litter you find in forests – mulch your fallen leaves and save space in landfills.

Elderberry stems are semi-woody, the interior is filled with pith. The late John Fairey, renowned botany professor at Clemson, told students that this pith was used to pack delicate scientific instruments and still used by repairmen to hold tiny parts of jewelry and such. Mason bees and other insects, however, have long used the older hollow stems as places to construct egg-laying or brood chambers. So if you have elderberries in your yard, cut a few stems half way down every year to expose that pith-filled interior to cavity nesting bees. Another option is to put stems and other small branches or rotting wood in a mulch pile. Then you can order a Pollinator Friendly Habitat sign from the Xerces Society. Read their page about building a better mulch pile for more ideas about making your yard pollinator friendly.